


Anniversary

by FinaFee8



Series: Carry On SnowBaz [1]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Anniversary, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-01 10:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16282931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinaFee8/pseuds/FinaFee8
Summary: Simon and Baz celebrate their one-year anniversary. They planned something special for a perfect date but for some reasons nothing really works out as planned...





	1. One

**Simon**

 

 “Oh, come on, Snow!” Baz yells while we squeeze ourselves and three grocery bags through the door.

 “This’ll end in flames. And … and you’re flammable, Baz!” I say, searching on the wall for the light switch. “Did you _ever_ cook a meal by yourself?”

 “No.”

 “You see! Then how do you want to cook a _Christmas_ dinner?”

 “It’s not a Christmas dinner – it’s a Pre-Christmas dinner,” he answers and unpacks a few vegetables and the chicken.

 “Oh, well…” I let my shopping bag drop. “That…that changes nothing!”

 “And I watched our chef a few times while cooking.” Baz juggles two peppers and grins at me.

 “A _few_ times?” I try to imagine Baz in a kitchen. It doesn’t work.

 “Calm down. This is going to be fun.”

 “I _am_ calm!”

 “No, you’re not,” he says and catches my wagging tail. (It always starts doing this, when I’m upset. I never can fool Baz that I’m _not_ upset about something – it reveals me every time. I hate it.) “Calm down and take a knife. We have much to do.”

 I take one of our knives, which doesn’t seem that dangerous, and look provocatively at Baz. “So, and what am I supposed to do with this?” I ask frowning.

 “In any case do not stab me,” he says and pushes my raised hand down. “Did _you_ ever cook before? Or at least _watched_ someone doing it?”

 “I have Penny. And she doesn’t like it when I’m hanging around the kitchen when she’s cooking,” I answer. She’s great at cooking. Her scones are almost as good as the ones from Watford.

 “Yeah. Right. That explains a lot.” He hands me an apple. “Here. Cut it. First, one cut through the middle and then into quarters and then…”

 “Yeah, I know how to part an apple. Thanks.” Roughly I slam the fruit onto the table and start the cutting like Baz described.

 “Where is Bunce anyway?” he asks and looks around our flat. Baz is hanging out here so often that it almost feels like _our_ flat. Penny’s, mine _and_ Baz’s. He even got his own drawer in my wardrobe.

 “She’s out,” I say while I stare at my four pieces of apple and think about what to do next.

 “With a bloke?” Baz takes the other knife and cuts another apple. I copy him.

 “Maybe. Don’t know.”

 “Has she never brought someone here before? I mean, I’m your boyfriend and hanging around here all the time. Is there really no one?” he says and grips the next apple. I almost finished mine.

 “Like you said – you’re always here and you never saw another boy inside these rooms.” Or girl? “I think there is no one.” Shrugging I take my second apple. I never really thought Penny could be gay. (After she broke up with Micah a few months ago, everything’s possible.) Well, I never really thought that I could be gay either…

 “Maybe that’s the reason. Maybe she doesn’t want to bring someone with her because _we_ are always here.” He shoves a piece of apple inside his mouth. I can see his fangs pop. It’s still fascinating.

 “We aren’t _always_ here,” I deny. “Sometimes we’re at your campus or mine or hang out in London or …” Baz swallows and stares at me like I’m stupid. “Yeah okay, we’re almost always here. But we don’t have only one room. If she needs personal space she could close a door.”

 “Yeah, but I still think she rather would …”

 “Can we please stop discussing Penny’s dating-life!” I interrupt him and hurry to catch up with my cutting. “That’s awkward.”

 “Okay,” Baz says bored. “Then … how was your test?”

 “What?”

 “Your history test. You wanted to change the subject.”

 “Oh, right. I think it went … nearly okay,” I say shrugging.

 “ _Nearly okay?_ Crowley Snow, we’ve studied _for_ _days_ together.” Baz stops cutting. I stare at my hands – keep cutting.

 “I know.”

 “You knew everything! You would have been able to compete with every history book. What was wrong?” Softly he lays his hand on mine to make me hold on. He’s looking at me but I keep staring at my now resting knife.

 “I just… I don’t know. It was like someone deleted everything I knew about London History.”

 “Oh, Simon.” He kisses my right temple and steals one piece of my apples. “Maybe I should sit right next to you next time. Then you won’t forget anything.”

 “Then I would be completely unable to concentrate,” I say. I imagine Baz sitting next to me in class. How he would kiss my neck and how I would stare at his hair all the time. Yep, I would be completely lost.

 “You’re probably right. I’m much more interesting than ‘The Great Fire of London’,” Baz says grinning. I can’t hold back a smirk. He grabs the shopping bag and picks out the peppers. He starts to carve the stalk out (which looks like he’d done this his whole lifetime), while I continue with my last apple (which looks like I never had a knife in my hands before. Probably I hadn’t. Unless my sword counts as a knife.).

 “But seriously, what was the problem? You can’t just forget all we’ve studied before,” he keeps pressing.

 “Obviously I can,” I answer and shrug. “Things often get lost in my head. It’s like there is too much to sort out that it’s impossible to find something again.” Sometimes I even forget to let Penny cover my wings. Three times she had to run after me to cast them away.

 “I know thinking is not one of your strengths, but that’s … I really thought you would rock this. I mean, you even refrained from eating for study,” he says.

 “Yeah, I remember, it was hor- …Wait!” I point with my knife at him. “Perhaps that was the problem! Usually, I eat while I’m studying. Only this time I resisted eating because I thought it might distract me.”

 “I can’t follow.” He shoves my hand with the knife aside. I take it into the other hand and tap with the blade against my forehead. “Maybe my brain only can store information while I’m eating.”

 “Don’t be a fool, Snow. Then you wouldn’t remember anything we did, while we were _not_ eating. And I hope you do, otherwise this would be a very one-sided relationship,” Baz says while I pick a slice of his peppers with my knife. “Although you’re eating almost all the time when we’re together. Tastes good?”

 I nod chewing. “I want to remember this conversation later, considering it’s our first anniversary,” I answer after I swallowed. Then I grin. Baz does the same. I grab him by his neck and pull his face to mine before I kiss him.

 “Be careful with this knife, Snow,” Baz mumbles at my lips and I start laughing.


	2. Two

**Baz**

 

 “It’s ready, isn’t it?” Snow squeaks, sticking in front of the oven.

 “Almost,” I say. “The clock will ring in three minutes. That’s usually the sign that something’s ready.”

 “I never seriously believed that we could do it. I mean you never really cooked before. Me neither. And see – it really looks like a Christmas dinner.” Snow smiles at me.

 “Pre-Christmas dinner, but yeah. It looks delicious, indeed. And what’s even more important, it smells delicious!” I answer, smiling back. “ _And_ I didn’t end up in flames.”

 “Yes, I think we should appreciate that.” He jumps to his feet and I take his hands.

 “God, are your hands sweaty,” I say but don’t let them go. I would never let go of him if I could.

 “Cooking is exhausting,” he moans with shrugging shoulders. Sometimes I have the urge to grab them and keep them still – just for one frigging moment.

 “Aren’t you the Chosen One, who fought against dragons and chimeras? How can _cooking_ be exhausting for you?” I tease him. Instead of denying, he starts grinning and leans forward so that his nose almost touches mine. I think he’s going to kiss me but he just stares at me.

 “Baz?”

 “Simon?”

 “Can you please use your magic so this is going faster? I can’t wait any longer. I’m starving.”

 “You want me to waste my magic on a meal, which is ready in only one minute? I’m disappointed in you, Snow.” I cross my fingers with his and stare at the moles on his cheek.

 “Otherwise you have to amuse me for this long wait,” he mutters smiling.

 “Well, that’s a different story,” I answer and want to kiss him, but of course, exactly in this moment the clock starts ringing. “I think it’s ready,” I say and turn my face to the oven.

 “I’m pretty sure it is,” Simon agrees and lets go of my hands to open the oven door. A hot heatwave pushes against us.

 “How do we get the roast out of it?” he asks while he covers his face with his hands.

 “Gloves,” I answer. “Do you have something like that in this messy kitchen?”

 Simon starts to open randomly cupboards and shelves. It really seems like he never was in here before.

 “Okay, this is taking too long. **Little table, cover thyself!** ” I speak, pointing with my wand, and the hot roast flies to the table by itself. Bowls full of potatoes, gravy and stuffing as well as plates, knives, and forks follow.

 “Oh, I love magic.” Simon’s eyes get a painful glance. “Sometimes I wish I only could –”

 “Shh,” I interrupt him. “Please don’t think about what you can’t have tonight. It will only hurt and we want to celebrate, remember?” I lay my hand on his shoulder and look deeply into his eyes. I hate it when he talks about his lost magic. It’s so unfair that he had to sacrifice all of it.

 “Yeah, I remember.” His eyes find mine. He swallows. “But only because I was eating when we spoke about it.”

 I try not to crack a smile, but I’m totally lost when he gives me that look. This little smirk when he tries to cheer himself up.

 “You’re an idiot, Snow,” I say laughing.

 “Yeah, I know. But I’m your boyfriend. So, you’re stuck with me.” He grins from one side of his face to the other. It’s adorable.

 “A year ago, I only could dream about it,” I say slowly. For a few seconds, we just stand there and stare at each other. His hair curls itself on his forehead and I stroke a lock away. He takes a deep breath. Then I clear my throat. “We should eat before it’ll get cold.”

 “You’re probably right,” Simon says but doesn’t move. Neither do I.

 “I’m always right.”

 “I could start a fight about this right now but I’m too ravenous.” His tail flips against my hand as he turns to the laid table. (I’m never sure if it’s on purpose or not.) I follow him and fall on the chair so I’m facing him. We both load our plates with our self-made Pre-Christmas meal. I don’t have a problem with eating in front of him – it feels totally normal that he can see my fangs, but I still don’t do it in public. Or with my family. That’s one of the reasons why we never go out for dinner, Simon and I. He doesn’t like it when he’s the only one eating and I’m just staring at him. So, we always order something because we normally don’t cook. And sometimes Bunce takes pity and makes something for us.

 “Did you already have some …”

 “I found a few rats in your basement, yeah.”

 “We have rats in our basement?” Snow asks and narrows his eyebrows.

 “Not anymore.”

 “Oh… well.” He takes the knife in his left hand. “Thanks then.”

 “You’re welcome.” I take my fork and try the first bite – just like Simon. There is a moment of silence while we’re both chewing and trying to figure out what we did wrong. I really don’t know.

 “It tastes …,” Simon starts.

 “Interesting,” I continue.

 “Well, that’s one way to describe it. I’d say it tastes like …”

 “Two blokes tried to cook but hopelessly failed?”

 “I wouldn’t call it hopeless… I mean … you _can_ eat it.”

 “You mean you don’t feel like throwing up?”

 “Nope. Do you?”

 “Hmm. No.”

 “Then it’s quite good.”

 I laugh. “As you say.” I take the next bite. “It gets better with time. _And_ it’s way better than the cake you baked for me on my last birthday.”

 “Pah! You should be happy that I even made this stupid cake then,” Snow complains. “I needed _hours_ because Penny had no time to help me. So, I did it all on my own. And I never _ever_ used an oven before. Or even a beater.” He gestures wildly with his fork. “And this time it wasn’t only my fault. You said you know how this works but the truth is, you haven’t the slightest idea! You…You just…You can’t cook either! For Crowley’s sake, maybe you cook even worse than me!”

 I can’t control myself but burst into laughter. “You’re too cute, Simon,” I chuckle. He tries to make a pout, but his lips tremble so heavily that he finally can’t hold back a grin.


	3. Three

**Simon**

 

Even when we don’t have to puke, I’m happy when my stomach is full enough that I can stop eating. Baz was right, it really gets better with time but not that good that I would enjoy it. (Not even with butter.) I seriously don’t know what we did wrong. I mean it looks _and_ smells delicious but something in there just tastes funny.

 I watch Baz how he moves around his last mashed potatoes (the best-tasting part of our meal) on his plate while he’s sucking on his fangs. He always does this when he’s lost in thought.

 “Everything alright?” I ask carefully. I reach over the table and take his hand. He looks up to me. The serious face came very suddenly. Seconds ago, we were just talking about school and then he became silent.

 “Yeah…Of course,” he mutters and avoids to look into my eyes.

 “No Baz. It’s not.” I squeeze his hand to comfort him. “Tell me. What’s wrong?”

 “It’s nothing.” He lifts his head and smiles. I don’t buy it.

 “Come on. By Merlin, something worries you. And I won’t stop poking until you tell me,” I say determined.

 “Well… I…You know that I was at my family’s house last weekend. In Oxford.”

 I wait for him to continue but he doesn’t. “Yeah, I know. And?” I ask after a few seconds of silence.

 Baz clears his throat. “And…they weren’t that happy about my grades.”

 “Your grades are fine. What’s their problem?”

 “They think I’m not that good as I used to be.”

 “Because it isn’t Watford anymore. You can’t shine in a school of economics with your wand-control and your amazing handling of words. And I thought you don’t care about your parent’s opinion?” I intensify my grip around Baz’s hand. He seems nervous.

 “I don’t. But they think I…I might be distracted.”

 “ _Distracted?_ ”

 “They think I’m distracted by…by you.” He looks away.

 “By _me?_ ” I let go of his hand. “And you? Do you think…this…too?”

 “Crowley Snow, No!” Baz reaches for my hand now. “I would never call you a distraction. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

 I feel myself blushing when he says this. “Then… Where’s the problem?” I ask and squeeze his palm.

 He takes a slow breath. “They want me to move to Oxford. But –”

 “ _What?_ Why?” I ask. “So that you are far away enough from me? So that I can’t _distract_ you anymore from your _great_ economic study? Are they bloody nuts? No. _No!_ They can’t do this. I mean… They can`t... They don’t… This is –”

 “ _Simon!_ Would you please shut up and listen before you start to fuss!” Baz says and tries to get my attention back by waving his hand in front of my face. I try to calm down but the words _move_ and _Oxford_ just make me panic. I could literally feel how all my blood was shooting from one second to the other in my head and rang all the alarm bells.

 “They want me to move to Oxford. _But_ I said I will never _ever_ leave London without you. I won’t!”

 “Oh.”

 “Yeah…”

 “But why are you so upset then? I mean they can’t force you to move, can they?”

 “I won’t let them. I’m a vampire – I have fangs.” He smiles at me. I try to smile back but I think I failed. “I just wanted to tell you about it. As you know, we have to visit them at Christmas and they will try it again – and they don’t care if you sit right next to me. I really didn’t mean to scare you, I only wanted to avoid the ugly surprise when my father will say to you – right in your face – that you’re my _downfall_. That you hold me back. That I have to leave you to be successful. Fucking shit like this.”

 “So … your parents hate me.” I stare at our crossed fingers.

 “They don’t … really hate you. They just… they think I should be a thick businessperson in the world of mages.”

 “And what do _you_ think?” I’ve got the feeling of having a frog in my throat.

 “I don’t care what I become. I don’t know yet – so why should I be in a rush?” he says.

_Because I hold you back,_ I think. _Because I’m your downfall._ I know he said these will be his father’s words but notwithstanding _he_ said them. He thought about it.

 “But maybe…maybe they’re right,” I say quietly. “I don’t want to stop you from anything.”

 “No. Stop!” Baz knocks my chin up. “I don’t care about my damn future –”

 “But maybe you should!” I interrupt him.

 “ _You_ haven’t the smallest idea what you want to be, either!” Baz replies. “But someday we both will know but I won’t change anything till then. I won’t leave you to study something I don’t want to be.”

 “But when you know, you’ll leave me?”

 “What? Simon.” Now he leans over to me. His hair falls in his face. “Could you please stop talking like that?”

 “I…I just want you to be happy,” I mumble. It’s true. That’s all I want from the world.

 “And I am. For Crowley’s sake, I have never been that happy before!” He lays his hand on my cheek. “Maybe I don’t know what I want to do in my future but I know with _whom_ I want to be.”

 I just stare at him.

 “I mean _you_ , you complete moron,” he says shaking his head. I stare into his dark grey eyes and then I believe him. These eyes always tell the truth. I can’t help but smile.

 “Okay,” I say.

 “Okay?”

 “I want to be with you, too.”

 “Good to know. I mean we just celebrate our one-year anniversary. Under these circumstances, it’s nice that you don’t want to break up with me tomorrow.”

 “You’re always so…”

 “That’s me, Snow. Can’t help from killing the mood.” He grins and I can glance at his fangs – they’re still popped out.

 “Yeah, but at least not today. Like you said it’s our anniversary.”

 He takes out his wand, clears his throat and speaks: **“Candle, Candle Burning Bright!”** A small candle appears between us. Burning. I start to laugh.

 “You said I killed the mood – so, here you have your romantical ambience back.”

 “Well, thanks.” I poke the candle with my fork.

 “Don’t hurt her,” Baz grumbles. “She’s part of our _SnowBaz_ anniversary.”

 I swallow and start to cough. “How did you just name us?”

 Baz groans. “ _SnowBaz_. It’s our name. We both together.”

 “ _No_ ,” I reply. “You gave us a _couple name_? That’s sick!” I narrow my eyebrows. “And why isn’t it _SimonBaz_ then?”

 “Because this sounds stupid.”

 “But it’s my name.”

 “Snow, too.”

 “Yes but…

_“Hey Simon, are you there?”_


	4. Four

**Penelope**

 

Covered in snow, I stand in the doorway and stare at a flushed Simon and Baz, who are sitting at the kitchen table. To my surprise, it smells like Christmas roast in here.

 “Oh,” I say. “I didn’t know that you would be here.”

 “We’re always here,” Baz responds and stares at me like I’m from a different planet. Simon just looks like he really wants to say something but can’t find the right words. Actually, like always.

 I take a few steps in their direction. Then I recognize a small candle between them. I never saw a candle around them before. Flammable and so on. So, this must be something serious. Did I miss something?

 “Are you two having a _date?”_ I ask and point at the little flame.

 “We…err…,” Simon stammers.

 “Kind of,” Baz cuts him off.

I step closer and see something that looks like a self-made dinner. But this would be complete nonsense.

 “Did _you_ cook? By _yourself?_ ” I stare at the table. Shocked.

 “Yeah… err… we did…but hon –”

 “It’s very delicious!” Baz interrupts Simon’s stuttering again. “I think we really got the hang of it.”

 “Seriously?” I still stare at their plates. Then I take a look at the kitchen. There’re lying used knives, food rests and several pans. _They really cooked!_ I didn’t think I would experience this day. How often did I try to teach them how to cook noodles? And it took months to show them how the coffee machine works. And this is even a whole bloody dinner!

 “Yeah.” Baz nods. Simon looks confused.

 “Yeah…” I don’t know what to say. “And what recipe is this? Can I taste it?” I ask unsure. Both just keep staring at me. Simon clasps his plate so tight that his knuckles are already white and Baz looks like someone just told him Christmas will be cancelled. I clear my throat. Simon flinches and opens his mouth to say something. “No…I mean yes!” he says five seconds later. “Didn’t you already eat something?”

 “No, I –”

 “But you can’t have something from our dinner!” Baz interrupts me hectically. “We’re not finished yet!”

 “Baz’s right,” Simon agrees. “I’m still very hungry!” He loads a big spoon of mashed potatoes on his plate. Then he shovels it into his mouth.

 I knew that sometimes they’re weird but this is a new level. First, they cook a meal on their own and then they act like … I can’t even describe it.

 “I should probably go,” I say frowning and want to step back but Simon makes me stop.

 “No! Please! You don’t have to leave!” he calls out. Now Baz looks confused. And me, too.

 “I go into my room, okay?” I say, moving backwards to the door.

 “That’s a good idea,” Baz replies and smiles creepily at me with his fork in his hand. _Weird._

 

*

In my room, I take off my coat and scarf. I speak **“As you were!”** to dry my hair, and sit down on my bed. I’m still confused. There were many situations in which they acted strange, all the time. That’s who they are. But this … Did I miss something? I definitely missed something. I try to figure it out, but after a few seconds, I decide to give up. Maybe Simon will explain it to me later. Or Baz. Or both of them. If they aren’t that silent anymore. And that weird.

 I start searching for my phone. I forgot it in here this morning. I look under my pillows and blankets and finally find it under my bed. Gasping, I lay down on my carpet and check my messages. There’s only one from my mum. Nothing important. I roll over so that I lie on my belly and hide my face in the fluffy rug. The day was really exhausting. For a moment I think about falling asleep right here, right now, but then I grip my phone and try to keep me awake. I zap through my apps and end up staring at my home screen. The date of today hits me in the face. In only two days is Christmas and I still don’t have a present for Simon. At least I’ve got one for Baz – but only because I thought a cup with vampire fangs would be funny. When I think about it now, it’s really lame. Maybe I should buy them one of this awkward couple gifts. Like matched jumpers or something like that. My laughter gets choked from my carpet fluffs. They would kill me.

 Simon already has a Christmas present for Baz. It’s kind of cute. I helped him with it. But I have no idea what Baz will give to him. I asked him several times but he wouldn’t tell me. Probably he doesn’t have something till now – which would be understandable. It’s really a challenge. Maybe I will just bake Sour-Cherry-Scones for Simon. He still loves them in a sick way.

 It’s so weird how you can get used to some things. I mean, now it’s completely normal that Simon and Baz are a couple – I can’t even imagine it otherwise anymore. But at the beginning, it was totally confusing and strange. It all happened in one day – the Mage died, Ebb died, Simon defended the Humdrum and lost his magic – and in between all that, they got together at some point. So, it took me a while to get the whole story. To ask what had happened between them. It’s not that I wasn’t curious. I was so damn curious I hardly could hold myself back. But I did. When we sat in the white chapel and Baz wrapped his arms around Simon and called him ‘love’. When we were back at their room and Simon wouldn’t let go of Baz’s arm for the next six hours. When Baz had to go home and kissed Simon before he left. Even when Simon came with me to my house to recover, I let him remain silent. He barely spoke at all. And I didn’t dare to ask him about anything.

 But I tried to force Baz to talk to me when he called me the next day to speak Simon. He wanted to know if he’s okay. But when I started to grill him about well…their new relationship, he just got upset and said he doesn’t call to listen to my babbling, so if I finally could hand the goddamn phone to Snow or otherwise he will use a possession spell on me to talk to him personally.

 Every time I gave up. Every time I restrained myself from asking questions, from making comments. Because when I would get answers, I wanted real ones and all the details, not just awkward stammering. But a few days later, when Simon asked me if it would be okay when Baz would come over for an hour or two (in the end he stayed the whole day), I couldn’t act anymore as if nothing’s changed. Because something had. A very big _something_.

 So, when Simon stood like a lost puppy in the doorway of my room, the first time really speaking without being asked for something, I couldn’t resist any longer. I got up from my bed, took him by his shoulders and sat him down on my bed. Then I took place next to him, cross-legged and facing him.

 “So,” I said and locked eyes with him. “ _Now_ we talk.”

 Simon looked at me confused as if he didn’t know what the hell I wanted from him.

 “ _You and Baz?”_ I said with raised eyebrows when he didn’t react.

 “What about _me_ and _Baz?”_ he asked, playing dumb. Oh Merlin, I couldn’t stand that anymore.

 “Okay Simon.” I sat up straighter and laid one hand on his shoulder. He frowned at me. “I’ve been silent for almost a week now. I respected that you don’t want to talk about anything right now and I understand it. Really. But you can’t think that I will just accept the fact that you and Baz…I don’t know…are _boyfriends_ now?”

 Simon avoided my eyes and his cheeks got red. He didn’t say anything.

 “Please don’t misunderstand me,” I continued, a bit afraid that I expressed myself inaccurately. “It’s great! I mean, I’m happy that you two are finally over this stupid nemesis stuff… And I always knew that you and Agatha don’t belong to each other anymore, so… It’s just…” I search for the right word. “ _Surprising_ …? Or maybe it isn’t that surprising at all.” I wrinkled my forehead and spat out the thoughts which devoured my mind the last days. “I mean, everything makes sense now. This explains your weird acting on Christmas Eve. The way Baz looked at you sometimes. And there always was this tension between you two. Then of course, you during fifth year when you followed Baz like you were obsessed with him. Just like this year when you drove the whole school crazy because of his missing. But I always thought this couldn’t be. I mean it’s _Baz_. You were always kind of fascinated by him, but he… I thought he was after Agatha!” I stared at Simon. Waited for him to finally say something.

 “Well, he…he obviously wasn’t,” Simon muttered and chewed on his bottom lip. “He’s…he’s gay.”

 “Yeah and you are, too!”

 “No!” he said and met my eyes again. I cocked an eyebrow at him. “I mean, kind of… I don’t know…”

 “But you are together?”

 “Yes.” He blushed even more. “I guess, we are.”

 “But _how?”_ I asked bewildered. “And _when?_ ”

 “I asked him,” he said shrugging. “On Christmas.”

 “You asked him? On Christmas? Just like that?” I shook my head. “Come on, Simon. A bit more details, please!”

 He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I drove to him during winter break because I found out who Nicodemus is. So, I spent Christmas with him.”

 “I know. I was there, too,” I said exasperatedly. “But what happened there, Simon? You don’t become boyfriends just like that. Especially not with your sworn enemy”

 “It’s…it’s complicated,” Simon stammered. Nervously, he ran his fingers through his hair. “And we weren’t enemies, actually. We had a truce.”

 “So, having a truce is the new level before becoming boyfriends now?”

 “What?”

 “Snakes alive, Simon! Why do you have to make it so hard for me?!” I groaned and threw my arms in the air. “You can’t demand that I always listen to your complaining about your vampire roommate you _hate_ and have to kill one day or who will kill you one day and then don’t tell me how you two became a couple! That’s not fair! I’m your best friend!”

 Simon looked at me, bashfully. His ears and cheeks were bright red now and his tail slashed restless against my pillows. “We…we were in this forest after Nicodemus told us that he doesn’t know who killed Baz’s mum and Baz…he was totally upset and crying and set the whole forest on fire. He…he wanted to kill himself.”

 “Baz wanted to _kill himself?!”_ I asked in disbelief.

 Simon nodded. “He told me that he’s a vampire and that I should tell it everyone and that this is what his mother would’ve wanted for him if she knew that he’s one of them – one of the vampires, I mean.” He hesitated but I swirled my hand around to make him carry on. “Well and then I kissed him.”

 “You kissed him?”

 “I wanted him to stop talking like that, so I made him shut up by kissing him. And he kissed me back and yeah… That’s it.”

 “And the fire?” I asked.

 “We killed it. Or Baz did.”

 “And then?”

 “We kissed again.”

 “You kissed again?”

 “Yeah. But then we had to stop because he had to drink blood, so…”

 “You had to stop kissing because Baz needed to empty a rabbit?!”

 “A deer, actually, but yeah…,” Simon mumbled nodding.

 I tried to imagine this whole scene. I couldn’t. This was all so crazy.

 “Wow,” I said. “That’s kind of a spectacular plot twist.”

 He just shrugged.

 “But how long? How long have you been in love with him?” I grinned at him. He shrugged again and a small smile hushed across his face.

 “Then, do you know how long _Baz_ is in love with _you_? I mean, he is, isn’t he?”

 The smile on Simon’s lips grew. “I guess… He said something like almost since we met, but I don’t know...” He bit his bottom lip but he couldn’t hide the huge grin on his face. I had to laugh. And Merlin, I hadn’t laughed for quite a while in this hard time.

 “Oh Simon, that’s awesome!” I poked his cheek and he laughed a bit, too. “Why haven’t you recognized this earlier? Why haven’t _I_ recognized this earlier?” I fell forward and rested my head on his knees. “Stevie Nicks and Gracie Slick, of course he loves you! All this drama about Agatha. He wasn’t interested in her. He was in love with you!” I lifted my head again and squeezed Simon, who was a bit overwhelmed and then I fell laughing off the bed on the ground. “Oh Simon, you were in love with him! All the time! _He’s a vampire, I have to follow him everywhere_ ,” I imitated him, holding my stomach out of laughter. “ _He’s plotting something, so I have to find him._ Of course, you had to.”

 Simon slipped from the bed and collapsed next to me. “Okay, Pen. I got it,” he said grinning and bumped his elbow against my arm. “You can stop laughing at me now.”

 But I wasn’t going to stop laughing for the next ten minutes and I wasn’t only laughing at him. I laughed at me for being so blind and dumb. For being fooled by Baz the whole time. Great snakes, this changed everything.

 When Baz came this day, I hugged him stormily – still laughing –  which made him complain and blush. (And Simon, too.) The whole evening, I watched them awkwardly, grinning like a maniac. Baz assigned it to my normal weirdness and Simon gave me every few seconds a headshake. But it was worth it. Then, a few weeks later, I got use to them. I hadn’t to stare at them every time they kissed to remember that this was really happening. I wasn’t surprised anymore when Baz stood in front of my entrance door or when he wasn’t going to leave for the night. They were in love. Of course, they were.

 Now, I have to deal with them almost every day so I’m sometimes really annoyed by them. But I prefer this much more than dealing with a totally lost Simon. Because I don’t know what he would’ve become if he weren’t with Baz. Something in him broke that night in the white chapel and I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to carry him alone. But with Baz on his side we got through this. And we will in the following, I’m sure.

 

 I’m nearly asleep when suddenly my mobile vibrates. Sleepy, I raise my head and glance at it. It’s a reminder post from myself. “ _SnowBaz Anniversary! Stay out of home!”_

 “ _Great Snakes!”_ I shout and jerk myself up to my feet. “I totally forgot…” I run back into the kitchen. As I take the step over the doorway the total chaos breaks out. I forget what I wanted to say as I see Baz standing next to the table with his wand trying to use spells on the…on the meal? In the moment they recognize me, Simon wants to snatch Baz’s wand but accidentally tilts the candle over. Now Baz’s sleeve starts to burn.

 “Merlin and Morgana!” Simon shouts with wide-open eyes and jumps up. _“Baz!”_

 At the same time, Baz looks like he’s just freezing. He stares at the fire which is slowly burning through the cotton.

 I react immediately. I jump to him, raise my hand with my ring and speak: **“Make a wish!”** and kill the fire a second before it reaches his skin and would’ve ended him like a fuse.

 “What the hell, boys?!” I yell and kick the smoking candle aside. “What are you doing?!”

 Baz still stares at his arm and Simon’s eyes switch from him to me. Both look completely distraught.

 “Boys?” I lay the two of them a hand on their shoulders. Simon is trembling. “Everything went fine. You can breathe again, Baz.”

 He exhales slowly and closes his eyes for a moment. He’s even more pale than normal. Merlin, I never thought he would be that terrified. But maybe I would talk differently if I were a vampire and inflammable like a piece of paper.

 “Good reaction time. If you had waited a second longer I would be a mountain of dust,” he grumbles sheepish.

 “A simple _Thanks for saving my life_ would work, too,” I respond. Now Simon wakes out of his shock-induced paralysis and wraps his arms around Baz.

 “Smoke and Mirrors, for a moment…I…I thought that’s it. This is the end!” he mumbles at Baz’s shoulder. 

 “To be honest, this would have been poetic,” Baz adds and hugs the still shaking boy back. “If it would end just like it started _._ ”

 This makes Simon something between laugh and sob. He clenches his fingers in Baz’s shirt, which obviously calms him down because he stops trembling. Also, Baz seems to recover. I think they forgot that I’m here, but this happens occasionally, so I’m used to it.

 “Could you please explain to me what you were up to!” I say frowning. For a few moments they seem like they just decided to ignore me, but then they let go of each other and glance at me with confused faces. Sometimes I really wonder how I always endure handling with them.

 “What?” Baz asks with innocent eyes.

 “What were you up to? You two really seemed like you wanted to hide something.” I cross my arms over my chest, feeling like a mother catching her naughty children. (Well, that’s what I am mostly.)

 “We…didn’t hide something. This was just…an accident,” Simon defends them. Baz nods forcefully.

 “You mean it was just _an_ _accident_ that you tried to put a spell on the roast? I start to believe that something is very wrong with that dinner,” I say and point at it. “Come on, I just saved your life. At least I want to know why it even got this far. You two owe me this!” And I’m hopelessly curious.

 “Actually, you only spoke **Make a wi** –”

 “Oh, shut up Baz! If I hadn’t –”

 “If you hadn’t turned up here, we wouldn’t have…”

 “You wouldn’t have what?” I look provocatively at Baz. He’s searching for words.

 “It’s our anniversary!” Simon spouts rapidly. Baz and I stare at him. Confused. Sometimes Simon shouts out the first words that come to his mind only to refract the talk.

 “My Congratulations…,” I say slowly. (I know now why I thought I should remember myself not to break in here on their anniversary – this will only end in very weird situations or burst out in flames. Literally.)

 “We didn’t know you would show up here. We were just surprised,” Simon says shrugging. “That’s all.”

 “I’m sorry that I forgot what’s today,” I admit and rub my forehead. “I honestly forgot. But how should I know that you two are so strange today?”

 “We aren’t _strange_ ,” Baz says while he’s inspecting his burnt-on sleeve. “You’re strange!”

 “That’s lame, Baz. Even for you.” I raise my eyebrows. He wants to reply something but Simon cuts him off.

 “Maybe we should go!” he says loudly.

 “What?” Baz and I ask at once.

 “We should go. Me and Baz. Now.”

 “Where?” Baz asks perplexed.

 “Outside.”

 “Why?” I ask outraged. Simon looks at me with big eyes. Sometimes I really wish I could read his mind.

 “Because … because of reasons.”

 “Great Snakes! Have you even finished your dinner?” I glance at the laid table. There is more than half of it left.

 “No. But we’ll eat it later. So, don’t touch it!” Simon says, grasps Baz arm and pulls him to the door. Baz is still overwhelmed with the plan change. Just like me.

 “Shoes!” I shout at Simon as he wants to pass the door only with his coat. Snorting, he slips in his shoes – Baz already did – and then they leave with a short “Bye”.

 “Don’t get kidnapped by numpties!” I yell at them. I hear Baz groaning. Then the door slams. Completely confused, I stand there in the middle of the kitchen. For a moment I feel bad because I destroyed their anniversary dinner, but then I decide that I did absolutely nothing wrong. How should I know that they’re so weird today? I mean they rather left than explaining themselves to me. I drop onto the chair and stare at the leftovers for a few seconds. Then I take a fork and try it. And suddenly everything starts to make sense. I end up laughing on the floor.

 


	5. Five

**Baz**

 

 “Simon, wait!” I grab his shoulder to stop him.

 “What?” he asks as he turns around. He stands one stair below me which is why he has to look up.

 “Where are we going?”

 “Outwards.”

 “Yeah and then?”

 “Eat a sandwich. Celebrate. I don’t know.” He shrugs.

 “Okay,” I say, following him downstairs. As we reach the door I can’t hold myself back. I start to laugh.

 “Why are you laughing?”

 “This was the most terrible departure I’ve ever seen!” I put an arm around his waist. “I should teach you so next time this won’t be that awkward.”

 “It wasn’t awkward! I…I just didn’t want a fight between you two. Or let Penny know that we totally failed at cooking and tried to _cast_ it so it’s edible. And I almost _killed_ you. There’s nothing funny about that!” He tries to look grumpy.

“Crowley, it is!” I say laughing. Simon has to hold me tight so that I don’t fall to the ground out of laughter. Maybe it’s an aftermath of the shock I had earlier.

 “You should have seen your face!” I keep laughing. “You really could see how your brain worked on an idea to get out of this mess.” Gently I tousle his curls.

 “All my brain worked out was that we had to leave.” He slides back my hand out of his hair. “Otherwise things would get ugly.”

 “You know that the first thing Bunce will do, is to taste our roast, don’t you?” I push against the door and shove us both through it. I almost trip over my own feet. Simon catches me and helps me to stand straight.

 “She won’t,” he says and lead us through the front yard. “I told her not to –”

 “Don’t be that naïve, Snow. Even a deaf _and_ blind person would have got that something is wrong with this stupid dinner. After this performance.”

 “Oh…” He frowns. “Well, then she knows.”

 “She will never stop mocking us about this. _Never!”_ I say dramatically. I still can’t calm down. Maybe the latest events burned the part of my brain which keeps my normal madness locked. I would be okay with that.

 We step to the sidewalk and walk through the snow. Simon’s breath forms small clouds. Mine, too. This makes me laugh again.

 “Merlin, Baz!” he complains. “You’re totally lost!”

 “No news,” I say. “I’m lost since first year.” This makes Simon finally smile. And me giggle. Crowley, I even annoy myself. My stomach hurts already that much, I’m afraid of throwing up.

 “Come on,” Simon mumbles and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s get a sandwich!”

 “Are you still hungry?” I ask grinning.

 “Is that a serious question?” Simon replies. “I thought you know me.”

 “I know you, but you always surprise me again.” I turn him rousing around and kiss him. (It’s a challenge when you have to laugh while doing it.)

 “Maybe I should set you on fire more often,” he whispers smiling. “I kind of like this crazy mood.”

 

*

“It _is_ funny,” I say while we walk hand in hand through the festively decorated streets. Everywhere are chains of lights and you can hear people singing. It really is time that Christmas is finally over. I slowly get sick of that fucking kitsch everywhere.

 “What?” asks Simon uncertain.

 “That I almost died. That’s funny.” I bump my shoulder against his. “I mean who else almost died because his boyfriend is so clumsy that he accidentally burns him with a candle?!”

 Simon laughs. “I’m pretty sure this will haunt me for years, won’t it?”

 “Yes, it will,” I say. I grin broadly. (The corners of my mouth already hurt.) “But it isn’t my fault that you always give me new stuff to laugh about. And after all, that’s one of the reasons why I love you so much.”

 Simon opens his lips to respond something, but exactly in this moment, his phone starts to ring. It’s a disturbing Christmas song. Surprised he lets go of my hand and pulls it out of his coat pocket. He stares at the display.

 “Who’s that?” I ask.

 “Agatha,” he answers frowning. “She didn’t call me since summer.”

 “Come on, go,” I say pressing. “Before she hangs up.”

 “What am I supposed to say? I mean …”

 I rip the phone out of his hands and take the call. “Hey, Wellbelove!” I say peppy.

 “Basil?” She sounds confused. “Why … I thought I’d call Simon.”

 “That’s right, you did.” I catch Simons hand which he waves in front of my nose. He whispers something but I don’t understand him.

 “Are you with him right now?” she asks bewildered.

 “He’s right next to me,” I say. “I give him to you. Wait a second.” I press my palm on the speaker and look at Simon. “What is?”

 “I…I didn’t tell her,” he whispers with crunching teeth.

 “You didn’t tell her what?” I ask, shaking my head.

 “About us!” He bites his bottom lip.

 “You didn’t what?” I raise my voice. “Why?” I add then softly.

 “There wasn’t the right moment,” Simon explains himself. “And there was no reason why she should know. It’s only would be awkward for her…”

 I take a deep breath and take a look at the phone. She’s still on.

 “Tell her!” I say.

 “Now? Per phone call?”

 “Does she need an extra announcement?!” I lay a hand on his shoulder. “Come on. She doesn’t care. She’s long gone in America.” I give him his phone. He hesitates a moment, then he raises it to his ear.

 “Hello Agatha,” he says with a tense voice. “How are you?”

 I can’t hear what she’s saying so I just watch Simon’s reaction.

 “That’s nice. I’m fine, too,” he answers. “Why did you call? … I mean I haven’t heard from you for months.”

 Wellbelove is answering something and I bob up and down on my feet. I never really spoke again with her – why should I? But at least I thought that someone told her that Simon and I are together – now after a year has gone by. (If not Simon, then Bunce.) I know they were in a relationship for a quite long time and at the end, she was kind of in love with me, but only a short text like “ _Hey, Baz and I are now happy boyfriends! How is the weather in California?”_ would’ve worked, wouldn’t it?

 “That’s very nice of you. I… err… I celebrate Christmas together with Penny.” Simon looks at me for help. I just nod encouragingly. “And…Baz. We’ll spend Christmas eve together tomorrow.” A short pause. “Yes. We… err…” She says something. “Kind of.” I whirl my hand. “We are...” He swallows. “Yeah, friends but…” I can’t hold myself back. I grip the phone.

 “Sorry darling, but my boyfriend and I have no more time now,” I say a little bit too charming. “Merry Christmas, Wellbelove!” Then I hang off. Simon steals his phone back. “I could have done that!” he says upset.

 “It just took too long. You were hungry, remember?” I lean forward and kiss his cheek.

 “Do you think she gets it?” he asks. “Maybe she thinks you’re just joking.”

 “I don’t care,” I say. “Why did she even call?”

 “She only wanted to wish me a Merry Christmas. Probably because we celebrated the last years together…” He turns his eyes away. I stare at my shoes. Wow, now she even killed the mood without saying anything. Simon clears his throat. “Well, let’s get this frigging sandwich. I’m starving!” he says and tries a smile.

 “As you say,” I answer, shoving aside the picture of Simon and Wellbelove, celebrating Christmas happily together and unpacking presents in matched pyjamas. _Don’t be an arse_ , I yell at myself.

 “You think they watch _Doctor_ _Who_ at Christmas in California, too?” I ask to calm the tension and lay my arm around Simon while we continue our way.

 “They probably don’t,” he answers relieved.

 “That’s sad,” I say, kicking the snow out of my way. “Okay, I never watched it before either, but after I caught up the last seasons, I’m really excited for the Christmas episode.”

 “And you should. It’s amazing!” Simon giggles and puts his head back. “Look, it starts snowing again!”

 “You don’t always have to become crazy about snow only because you’re named after it, Snow,” I say and stretch my nose to the sky. The snow ends up in my eyes. I have to blink.

 “Wrong,” Snow says sneering and tiny flakes get caught in his hair. “That’s exactly the reason why I always have to become crazy about it.”


	6. Six

**Simon**

 

The sandwich tastes way better than our self-made dinner. I even was able to persuade Baz to eat one.

 “We can eat during our walk. No one will see your fangs – it’s too dark,” I said. Well, I did forget that’s Christmastime.

 Now the two of us are walking through the brightly lighted, and crowded (last minutes shoppers) streets of London and chewing our sandwiches. I already eat my second one.

 “Next time we buy those ones right away and don’t even try to cook,” Baz says with his hand in front of his mouth because a few people with shopping bags run past us.

 “Sounds like a plan,” I reply and check if my tail is still invisible. I don’t want Normals to think I’m the Antichrist or something like this. I also feel my wings under my clothes – you don’t recognize them if you don’t know they exist.

 “We’re really a very suspicious couple,” Baz mutters chewing. “Fangs, Wings and a tail – we could work in a freak show – as the best-looking ones of course.”

 “By the way,” I notice and swallow the last bite of my bread. “I have something to show you.”

 “Oh, now I’m scared,” he answers and rubs his hands.

 “You should!” I chortle and turn around to observe the environment. We’re in a small street but there are still too many people. “We have to search for an isolated place. A backyard or a dead end.”

 “Snow.” Baz reaches for my shoulder and makes me stop.

 “Yes?”

 “Do you plan to _kill_ me? Because you really sound like a serial killer right now.” His fangs sparkle in the dimmed light.

 I laugh and move on. “Tried already but didn’t work. Shit, I forgot my stake…”

 “No for real – what are you planning?” He’s catching up and walks backwards in front of me so that I’m facing him. The snow crunches under his feet. “Come on. Tell me!”

 “You’ll see,” I answer and shove him out of my way. “It’s a surprise. I’ve been planning it for months now.”

 “You planned it for months but don’t know a place to show me your great surprise?” Baz circles around me like an excited puppy. “What have you done all this time?”

 I cross the street and pull him with me. “Shut up and follow me!” I say, too busy orientating myself to listen to him.

 “You’re jaywalking,” he complains and looks around for cars.

 “Then move faster!” I counter. “We must be really close to this one empty backyard of this old snack bar.” This should be the right place. Abandoned and dark. (Merlin, now I really feel like a psychopath.)

 “No, I’m sure you plan to stab me,” Baz says nodding. “Or at least want to kidnap me.”

 “Damn it!” I respond with played revolt. “Now you know! And I already hired the numpties…” I giggle gleefully. If there is something you can mock Baz with – it’s the numpties. He goes nuts every time I mention them. Like now. He slaps with his hand against the back of my head but then starts to laugh. “Screw the fucking numpties!”

 “There it is!” I say and make a sharp turn. Baz struggles to follow me.

 “You know I’m a mage and a vampire – I can defend myself!” he shouts at me, leering.

 “Didn’t help you with the numpties. Won’t help you with me.” I run the last metres. Baz hurries to follow me. We land in a very dark backyard with rubble and trash all around. The smell isn’t that pleasant – but for my plan it’s perfect. (If I didn’t need an area without an audience I wouldn’t set a foot in here.)

 “So, and now?” Baz asks and wrinkles his nose. I make sure one last time that no one is watching us, then I breathe in and free myself out of my jacket. Then I pull my jumper over my head so that I’m only in a shirt. I throw the clothes to Baz.

 “ _Now_ I’m really afraid,” Baz mutters with probably raised eyebrows. It’s just bright enough that I can guess his facial expressions. I ignore him and close my eyes. I unfold my wings in their full size. (I cut holes for them in my shirt, so I don’t have to be shirtless and freeze myself to death completely.) Both of the wings are almost as tall as me.

 I open my eyes and look at Baz. He probably starts to understand my plan, because he stares at me with an open mouth.

 “No,” he says then, shaking his head. “You can’t … you can’t fly! You said this to me at the very beginning. You said you can’t control them.”

 “Well… what can I say.” I smile mischievously. (I feel really epic right now.) “I trained.” It’s a huge challenge and I need my full concentration but I succeed to levitate over the ground. My wings beat around me and I fly slowly and very uncoordinated around Baz. His face freezes.

 “Aleister Crowley!” he stammers. “You’re … you’re the weirdest and prettiest human-dragon I’ve ever seen!”

 “I guess that’s a compliment,” I say, trying not to fly against him. I hardly manage to land in front of his feet.

 “That wasn’t already the real surprise,” I confess and wink at him.

 “You mean …” Baz’s eyes get big. “No! No. No. No. Forget it!” He makes a step back.

 “Come on. It’s fun!” I step closer to him and reach for his hand.

 “I won’t fly with you! This is suicide! For both of us!” He keeps shaking his head.

 “It won’t. I really trained! Penny already flew with me.” I don’t tell him that we crashed into a tree. And that she had to puke after it. Just like me.

 “She is much lighter than me!” Baz grumbles. He really struggles – but I guess I would act the same way if I was him.

 “Of course, you have to spell yourself lighter,” I say and roll my eyes. I won’t let him resist – I trained almost every night he wasn’t with me.

 “You can’t even ride a bike straight! How do you want to manage to fly with me on your back without _dying?!_ ”

 “We won’t die!” I say emphatically. “And you never saw me on a bike!”

 “But I can imagine it,” he answers and swallows. “And this here will end worse.”

I knead my temples. “You are a _coward!”_ I whisper, barely audible. But he is a vampire so he can hear me. I know how thin-skinned he is when I call him that.

 “I’m not. I just already almost died tonight – I have reached my comfort limit for today.”

  _“Coward,”_ I form with my lips. I can see how this gets under his skin. How his pride and fear fight against each other. He tears at his hair and then he nods.

 “Okay. Let’s do this!” he gives way. I smile satisfied. “But first, you have to give me my wand back so I can cast myself into a little girl.”

 I totally forgot that I still have his wand.

 “Here,” I say, handing it to him. He takes it and I could swear that his hands tremble a bit. (Or maybe it was just mine. Suddenly, I’m very _very_ unsure about this flight…)

  **“Light as a feather!”** Baz speaks, pointing the wand at his feet. He chuckles. “Wow, that feels funny.”

 “What does it feel like?” I ask.

 “I can barely describe it.” He jumps a few times. “Kind of like hundreds of balloons would pull me up.”

 “Come on. I’m getting cold,” I say and step from one foot to the other. “Don’t forget my jacket.”

 Baz ties my jacket around his waist and steps around me. “How am I supposed to –”

 “Just cling around my neck,” I answer. He does it and slings his legs around my hips. He almost weights nothing. “Ready?” I ask and swing my wings. It makes a nice whoosh.

 “Wait!” he shouts. **“Do not fall!”** he speaks. (I roll my eyes.) “Now!”

 “Okay,” I yell and wave my wings. Baz’s grip gets tighter. Then we lift. I swing to the left and to the right but anyway, I carry us higher. And higher.

 “Fuck!” Baz screams, his face right next to mine. “This is… This is amazing!”

 I laugh, but this distracts my concentration for a second so we fall a few feet down. But I manage to get the control back right before we hit the roof of the abandoned bar. Baz digs his fingers hurtfully into my shoulders – I try not to complain.

 “Won’t the Normals see us?” he asks and points at the nearest street.

 “You have to speak us invisible,” I say.

 “Couldn’t you have said that earlier?” He rummages to get his wand back, which makes us lose balance again.

 “Fuck, Baz!” I scream. “It’s your fault if we crash into the rubbish down there!”

 “You wanted –”

 “Just cast us invisible!”

**“Nothing to see here!”**

 “Fine?”

 “Fine! Let’s fly higher! I want to see London.”

 “You want higher? Only a second ago you didn’t wa –”

 “Shut up and concentrate. This chimney there is too close for my taste.”

 I lift us higher. Now we even can see the bakery where we got our sandwiches from. I’m really shaky but Baz has calmed down and his calmness helps to settle me down, too.

 “Wow!” he breathes into my ear. It makes me shiver. (Maybe he _isn’t_ that good as support – this closeness makes me a bit dizzy.)

 The crowds on the streets get smaller. The snow and the thousand lights in the trees and the windows give them all a very romantical touch.

 “Thank you,” Baz whispers. “For convincing me to this nightmarish journey. It’s awesome!”

 “You’re welcome,” I respond and try to glance at him, but it only makes us tumble.

 “Concentrate, Snow,” Baz says. “I don’t want to die because you can’t turn your eyes from me.” He kisses the mole on my neck. We fall at least six feet down.

 

*

 

 “Do you know who lives here?” I ask while I try to get myself back into my jacket. (Which is a challenge when you have to hide huge wings under it.)

 “Does this matter?” Baz steps through the snow to the edge and peers at the street under us. We landed on the roof of a five-storey house. This was Baz’s idea – not mine. I would never just land on an inhabited house.

 “Come here. The view isn’t that amazing as the one from our flight, but at least you can see the Thames.”

 I walk to him and dare a quick glance over the edge. Yep, I’ve got enough heights for today. Instead, I take Baz hands into mine. He turns his face to me. “Well, this view is even better,” he says and smiles. “And how is your review for our first _SnowBaz_ -anniversary?”

 “I’m still not over the fact that _you_ gave us this stupid name,” I say grinning. “But I actually think we really did a good job. Not everything went according to plan, but at least everything we went through today, will forever stay in my mind.”

 “Yes, that’s right.” Baz crosses his fingers with mine. “And if you forget over the failed dinner, the embarrassing confrontation with your roommate, my two near-death experiences and this awkward call with your Ex, everything went pretty normal. Apart from the ride on the back of my dragon-boyfriend, of course.”

 This makes me laugh. “Probably Penny was right: We’re truly fucking strange!”

 “Hell, we are!” Baz laughs, too.

 “I’m very excited for next year. Maybe we get more normal with time.”

 “I wouldn’t be that confident. I’m pretty sure it only gets weirder.”

 “I can live with that,” I say.

 “Me, too.” He leans forward to kiss me. I grip for his neck and pull him closer. I completely forget that we’re on the roof of a five-storey house. But I have the feeling of flying again.

 “Baz?” I whisper, gasping for air.

 “Yeah?” He lays his forehead against mine.

 “I love you.”

 “Oh Snow,” he breathes. “ _I_ wanted to say this but you stole my show.”

 I giggle. (Normally I don’t _giggle_ that much like today – but it’s our anniversary and everything smells like Christmas. I think this explains a lot.)

 “I love you too, Simon,” Baz says with such a gentle voice, which makes me laugh. “Even if you would’ve tried to hand me to the numpties. I just can’t help myself, you drive me crazy.”

 “Maybe I will hand you to them one day,” I say. “Only to prove if you really told me the truth and still love me then.”

 “I always tell the truth.”

 “A long time ago you said you will kill me, remember?”

 “I didn’t lie.”

 “You didn’t?”

 “I always thought about killing or kissing you – I said you drove me nuts.”

 “Glad you did the latter.”

 “Glad _you_ did the latter.” He kisses me softly. “Simon?”

 “Hmm.”

 “Do we fly downstairs or take the stairs?”

 “What stairs?” I ask confused.

 “There are stairs. To our flat.”

 I take a step back and look at him perplexed. He grins amused. “It’s the roof of our – well, _your_ flat.”

 “No,” I say and shake my head. “This can’t be.” I take a second look at the street under us. Indeed, it’s the road in front of our house. Baz breaks out into heavy laughter and I throw a snowball at him. He dodges and throws one back. It ends up right in my face.

 “Carry on, Simon Snow!”


End file.
